Bitter Kind of Love: Prairie Devils MC Romance (Outlaw Love) (25 page)

“No fucking way, Prez. You're seeing too much red to think straight.” Tank shifted his weight, scraping an irritated boot on the ground.

“Didn't say this was a negotiation,” Blaze said. “And it sure as fuck isn't a surrender either. This goddamned thing has been nothing but trouble since we picked it outta Mickey's shit. Should've burned it a long time ago.”

“It sounds like you've got a plan. Wanna tell us how it gets our girls home without giving these dickheads a hundred chances to double-cross us?” Moose looked just as confused and uncertain as all the brothers.

I wasn't sure where Blaze was going with this shit either. I shot him a cold look. We didn't have time for any fucking theatrics.

“Go look behind the toolbox, bro.” Blaze turned and pointed to the big steel box in the corner.

Moose turned to me. Now I was getting pissed, wondering what the fuck was going on. I beat the bigger, older brother there and did a double take.

Behind me, Moose laughed when he caught up. He reached down, grabbed it by the tail, and pulled it up, shaking off a few flecks of ice.

“Poor little bastard. Looks like he got the shit end of a Missoula winter before finishing his nest.”

Snarling, I snatched the dead rat outta his hand. Fucking thing really was frozen solid. Blaze reached out as I walked over, and I passed it to him.

A few brothers suppressed their laughs. Roller was the loudest, and he looked up when Blaze and I pierced him with warning looks.

“Sorry. This is serious shit. Do I wanna know how you're gonna take take those fuckers down with a mouse?”

“Rat. You've seen plenty to know, asshole,” Blaze growled, walking to the steel work table near the bikes and unrolling the map, throwing the rat down next to it. “Next time you see this furry bastard, you're only gonna be a little less surprised than those fuckheads.”

“Ambush,” Tank said thoughtfully. “Give 'em something unexpected. I like it. Better throw in a flash bang and buy us a couple more seconds. Fuck knows I've been blinded by those damned things enough times...we'll have to haul ass. The Slingers are smarter and faster than your average Grizzlies goon, boss. We'll have...maybe five seconds tops?”

“Plenty of time to shoot anything that moves and isn't looking pretty,” I said, liking this idea more and more. “Are we done talking?”

I waited for Blaze to nod, then I clapped my hands. “All right. Let's fucking move it. Wrap this shit up and head out.”

The brothers scrambled in all directions, gathering weapons and gear, and then moving for their bikes. Reb, Moose, and Roller went for the van. We always brought out different chariots to a battle like this.

I double-checked to make sure my shit was all together, and then headed for my bike. Blaze's ride was next to me, and I watched him get on, fixing his helmet and pulling on an extra layer of gloves for the wintry ride. Thank fuck blowing snow was all we had to worry about on the roads tonight. They were plenty clear, an open route to the hell we were gonna bring with us.

“You and me got dibs on cutting the throats of anyone who's left alive after the wave,” the Prez said, firing up his engine. “You're the only bro tonight who understands this shit exactly like I do.”

I gave him a nod, tightening my helmet. “I'll race you to the fucking finish line. First man to stop their hearts with his bare hands wins.”

Blaze nodded, and peeled out ahead of me, heading for the open gate. I was right behind him, and I wasn't fucking joking.

After what the Slingers had done, it was only fair I gutted them open and ripped their hearts out, the quickest and most merciful shit they deserved. If I found out that they'd hurt my old lady, before I'd even claimed her...

Shit.

Even ferocious wind slapping me in the face wouldn't drown out their screams. I'd drain their carcasses and crawl through the blood if it brought her back to me, safe and whole.

Riding into the dark mountains with the rest of the boys behind me, I knew there were no guarantees. Not 'til these fucks were buried and I had her in my arms. When Alice was mine again, come hell or high water, I was gonna pick up on loving her harder than before, giving her all the attention she deserved, and then some.

I wanted her as bad as I wanted her tormenters dead and gone, wanted her 'til my bones rattled harder than my Harley's engine on the dark road.

I'd let club business blur into the life I wanted to give her. Everything she deserved when she took my brand.

No more.

This was fucking it, right here. Transition. Closing one bloody chapter out and starting a new one with her sweet skin wrapped around mine every waking second.

After tonight, there weren't gonna be any regrets. I'd be too fixed on loving Alice for any more of that shit, or else I'd be dead.

It took about a half hour to get to the location they gave Blaze. It was a shitty little cabin, half its shingles gone, flapping eerily in the wind.

Blaze slowed down as we wound up the driveway. I stopped right behind him, killed my ride, and got off. The rest of the brothers caught up quickly and took their positions, bringing out the heavy guns.

They wouldn't do much good in this fight unless we knew for sure the girls were outta the way. They were really there for intimidation, and we needed a shit ton of it against the Slingers' crazy asses. Their vehicles were parked off to the side, and taking a quick look said we had a slight advantage in numbers. Not that it meant much when these assholes had experience and deadly skill on their side.

Blaze cupped his hands over his mouth, about to yell at the house, when the door opened. A thick man with a mouthful of silver teeth grinned coldly, waving us forward.

The Prez gave the go ahead, and we inched closer. Me, Blaze, Moose, and Tank, leaving the rest of the brothers to hang back in case they meant to surprise us at the door. Didn't fucking think so – not while we had the map. Everything these assholes wanted was scrawled on a dead man's piece of paper.

There was no time to think about fucked up ironies. I was at the door when Blaze pushed something hard into my hands.

“Do the honors,” the Prez said coldly, just out of earshot from the line of evil looking bastards waiting for us next to an old table.

Blaze and I walked together, stopping in front of a tall, hard looking man with scars on his cheek. One look at the PRESIDENT patch on his cut told me we were dealing with Nero, the fucker spearheading this nightmare. He spread his hands on the table and spoke.

“I'm glad we could come to an agreement, Blaze. Maybe you assholes are smarter than you look.”

“Whatever,” Blaze spat. “Where are the girls? You're gonna bring them out there so I can see they're safe before we're handing over anything.”

Nero looked at me and allowed himself a thin, cruel smile. “You must be Stinger? They're both in the back. Alive and well, both of them, Alice and Saffron. Now, you can't expect me to trot my hostages around where they might get in harm's way if you Prairie Pussies have something else in mind, yeah? We all care about the girls, Blaze. I didn't pluck a single hair out of their heads, or anywhere else.”

The Prez looked like he was ready to explode. My heartbeat sent shockwaves through every muscle in my body. My hands tightened on the paper bundle clutched to my chest, keeping it outta their view, all I could do not to hurl the fucking thing at Nero's ugly face like a brick.

Nero raised one hand. “Shark, let 'em speak so our guests can hear.”

The man with the silver teeth and the VP patch walked back toward the room. He said a few words to someone inside, and a second later, Saffron's voice rang out.

“Blaze?” She paused, exploding louder the second time. “Blaze!”

The Prez's eyes lit up. He knew damned well she didn't sound okay, and then my brain started spinning, wondering what they'd done to Alice.

I could feel Tank's eyes boring into me from behind, warning me off doing anything crazy or stupid. Just a few more seconds. We were so fucking close, but there were a thousand ways this could all go to shit.

“The other bitch too,” Nero said, giving me a vicious look that said he knew she was mine.

I suppressed a growl. Had to break eye contact with the motherfucker before I wrecked everything. God damn, my fists were hungry, my bloodlust ripping at my throat like a werewolf trying to come out.

Nearly broke my own jaw clenching it tight when I heard her voice. “Stinger, it's Alice! We're okay. We just want to go home. Get us out of here. Please, we want you to –“

“That's enough!” Nero barked.

Footsteps rumbled in the room, and I strained to see what the hell was going on. Probably some fucking roughneck holding a gun to their heads. I'd been in this world long enough to know how clubs kept their bargaining chips in line.

I looked away, and my eyes caught Blaze's.
Don't fuck it up, brother. Just hold it together, a little while longer. Then you can go nuts. We're not walking outta here tonight unless they're all dead.

Hearing his shit was all in my imagination, but it did the trick. I stopped seething and looked at Nero, feeling a monstrous peace coming over me like my blood turning to ice. Never knew zen could go hand-in-hand with murder 'til now.

“They're both yours. You can keep your fucking guns on us the whole time when we walk 'em out. Just gotta give us that map, Prez.” Nero pushed his hands together on the table, cracking his knuckles. “I want my map first.”

“Stinger,” Blaze said, his voice low, rough. “Give these assholes what they want.”

I looked Nero in his beady little eyes as I slammed the map on the table. Thank fuck it was no more than a degree or two warmer in here than outside. The shit in my hands hadn’t melted and started to bleed through.

Nero snorted, eyeing the package cautiously. “What the fuck is this? Damn it, jackass, if this is a fucking bomb I'm gonna shove it right down your throat.”

Shark came over at Nero's prompting. Blaze swallowed, and I pushed an identical fat lump down my own throat.

“It's all there, asshole,” I said. “Wrapped around a rock, just like we found it. Never had much use for it ourselves. We don't roam around like fucking pirates.”

“Shut up. That's enough,” Blaze said. “Just look at your pretty fucking paper and give us our girls so we can get outta here. This is business, right?”

The harsh note in his voice was fake, not at all the authentic rage storm I'd felt a thousand times rolling off the Prez. Nero cocked his head and nodded, giving his VP permission to pick it up and start unwrapping.

“Call it whatever you want, Blaze, I don't give a shit. Long as you give us what we agreed on, everything's cool and we can –“

An ear shattering scream erupted from Shark's mouth. Nero's eyes bugged out as his VP squealed like a girl and tossed the dead rat high in the air. More Slingers roared, reaching for their guns.

“Tank, now!” I screamed.

The giant pushed through us as we all hit the floor, hurling the flash grenade. Sparks exploded right on the table. The impact blew the shoddy old wood apart, adding more chaos to the deafening flash. The old cabin's groaning wood matched Shark's scream as the shots began.

I covered my eyes with my arm, just like we'd been taught. The Slingers weren't so lucky, but they were still dangerous, firing wildly in the direction where they'd seen us before.

Bullets soared across my head. Smoke and haze clouded everything after the blast, adding to the maelstrom. I aimed my Magnum at a dark silhouette stumbling around. When I saw the bear roaring on the back of his cut, I pulled the trigger. His head exploded before he could even scream.

Quicker than any of these bastards deserved after torturing our women. Fuck, I hadn't even seen her yet, and I could only imagine the way they'd terrorized her, hurt her, screwed her up.

A couple more Slingers went down. I got up, crouched, and crawled through the smoke, passing over the wooden splinters. Some guys were starting to run low on ammo. The whole fucking cabin's walls were shot to Swiss cheese by now, and I stumbled over several bodies, looking closely at their eyes to make sure they weren't playing dead.

Nope. We got the fuckers. Tank looked up from his position on the floor, shoving another clip into his gun. I went down next to him.

“Come on! We gotta find the girls!” Seething, I stepped forward, and then tumbled back when Tank's huge fist caught my boot.

“Not yet! Stay the fuck down, boss.” He shoved me down and fired.

A sneaky sonofabitch popping his head outta the back room took a bullet. He squealed, then fell backward, dead.

I got over being shoved around by Tank real fast. He'd saved my ass. I looked around, counting the bodies, trying to remember how many of those savage assholes we'd seen lined up.

Four guys down. That meant there were at least two or three missing. Fuck.

Just then, I heard the movement near the door, where Blaze was heading. It was my turn to burst up before Tank could stop me. I tackled the Prez and threw him to the ground, right as the asshole appeared in the open doorway. Tank's gun barked.

The figure screamed. Sounded an awful lot like that Nero fucker. He grunted, injured, dragging himself out into the dark wintry night. I was about to go after him when Blaze looked up.

“Hold it, bro. Motherfucker won't get far. We can track his blood. Gotta make sure our girls are okay first.”

I nodded, holding out a hand. Blaze grabbed it and stood. We navigated our way past several bodies and plenty of debris. Thankfully, it looked like all the brothers were in one piece. A few boys were a little bloodied and scratched from the melee, especially Roller, who'd finished one fucker off with his knife.

We had our guns drawn, heading for the backroom when the corner exploded with a bloodcurdling scream. Blaze and I looked at each other. I took off, heading for the pillar in the corner.

That wiry piece of shit who couldn't stop laughing got up just in time to look me in the eye. One second too long. I fired. The fucker moved like a blur, taking a bullet somewhere in his leg before he jumped out the window. Broken glass rained down everywhere.